Queen Elizabeth Shares a Moment with Prince Charles in Newly Released Photograph
In celebration of Prince Charles's 70th birthday, the royal family has treated us to another set of photographs. Among the images of the Prince of Wales holding his grandchildren and tending to his gardens, there is a poignant photograph of the septuagenarian royal walking with his mother.
Resident royal photographer Chris Jackson took the image, and assured that the connection the two seem to have is genuine. "My impression of mother and son is that I see two people who have a great relationship," he told The Times. "We don’t see them together on a regular basis, but you look at those pictures from the Highland Games every year, and when two people are laughing in that way, that’s not something you can fake."
The picture is sweet in itself, but understood in context, it's even more meaningful. It was taken before the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting this past April, when the Queen addressed the issue of succession. Unlike the monarchy, the head of the Commonwealth is not a hereditary role, but the Queen decided to support Prince Charles's candidacy regardless.
"It is my sincere wish that the Commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity for future generations, and will decide that one day the Prince of Wales should carry on the important work started by my father in 1949," the British monarch said. The next day, Commonwealth leaders decided to secure Charles's future role.
This past week, Prince Charles's birthday celebration gave the Queen an opportunity to deliver a more intimate speech. "Over his 70 years, Philip and I have seen Charles become a champion of conservation and the arts, a great charitable leader-a dedicated and respected heir to the throne to stand comparison with any in history-and a wonderful father," she said to the crowd at Buckingham Palace. "To you Charles. To the Prince of Wales."
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